Page 21 of Deadly Rescue
“She’s in labor, man.” Cooper quickly filled him in on their current situation, which was met by a lot of yelling, followed by an impressive stream of curses.
“It’s too soon, she shouldn’t be in labor yet!”
“Tell that to your inpatient children,” Sophie yelled, biting her bottom lip.
“I’m so sorry I’m not there, baby. As soon as my leg gets wrapped up, I’m coming to you.”
Sophie frowned, glancing at Celina, then back at Cooper and the phone. Her cheeks puffed in and out as the contraction continued to build. “Wait…”—huff, huff—"what happened…to your leg?”
“Not important now,” Nelson quickly answered. “Just focus on you and keeping our babies safe.”
“Don’t coddle me, Cruz!” Her heavy breathing escalated and she screwed up her face. “You can damn well tell me what’s going on with your leg—Ohhhhh,” Sophie gasped and let go a stream of expletives that rivaled her husband’s.
“You guys can talk about it later,” Leo cut in. “I need Sophie to push.Now.”
“Deep breath, Soph,” Celina said, making eye contact as they drew in a sharp breath in unison. “Now, push!”
Sophie bore down, yelling at the same time.
“Push, push, push—almost there, you’re doing good—”
They continued the encouragement, Nelson joining in via phone.
More yelling, some screaming, and at last, Leo shouted, “Yes, baby one is out!”
Sophie made another yelling noise and flopped back against the cushions, breathing heavily.
Leo was patted its back, massaged its body. “It’s a…”
“What?” Nelson shouted at the sudden silence. “It’s awhat, doc?”
Sophie raised her head. “Don’t keep us…in suspense.”
Leo grinned at her. “It’s a boy!”
Tears of joy sprung from Sophie’s eyes as he held up the tiny baby for a moment. Covered in goo from the placenta, the baby gave a small cry and Leo gently handed him to Polly for help cleaning him off and checking him over. Polly brought him to Sophie for a quick kiss, motherly fingers gently stroking the tiny face.
“How does he look? Is he okay?” Nelson shouted, and they all jumped, having nearly forgotten he was still on the phone.
“Oh Nelson, he’s so beautiful,” Sophie quietly cried, watching as Polly swaddled the baby before handing him to Cooper, who gently placed him beneath the warm lamps. The baby made little “wah, wah, wah” sounds, then settled down as Cooper placed a hand on him and gently patted his belly.
Tears of joy slipped down Celina’s face unchecked, and she smiled, unable to contain her happiness at being able to share this moment with her friend.
Their peace lasted only a few tearful moments, however, when Sophie sucked in a sharp breath, “I think baby two is ready.”
“Yep, the second placenta just broke,” Leo said, holding a hand to Polly. “Towels.”
Polly gave him several and then took the soiled ones to bathroom.
“Same thing, Sophie. On the next contraction, I need you to push,” Leo instructed.
As the next contraction hit, Sophie sucked in a deep breath and pushed while Celina held her hand and lent additional bracing against her back, encouraging her friend to push through the pain and exhaustion wracking her body.
When the contraction ended, Sophie fell back against the cushions, eyes closed. Celina met Leo’s gaze, a chill settling over her skin when she saw him glance at Cooper and give a shake of his head.
“This one is stubborn like his father, it must be another boy,” Sophie joked, eyes opening to meet Leo’s. Her smile faded when she saw the pensive look on his face. “What’s wrong?”
Leo moved to gently press a hand around on her stomach. After a moment, he gave a deep sigh. “I think the baby is breach.”
